1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to devices and methods used to cool beverages and, more particularly, this invention relates to devices and methods for cooling beverage containers and especially liquor bottles or any container holding a liquid that freezes at colder temperatures than water.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known that many beverages are enjoyed by consumers when chilled. One way of chilling a beverage is to place ice cubes in a container (e.g., a glass) that holds the beverage. Another way to chill a beverage is to place the container holding the beverage in a refrigerator or freezer before consuming the beverage. Both of these methods of chilling a beverage have a common shortcoming in that their effects eventually dissipate, usually during the ordinary time that one would take to consume the beverage. For example, the ice cubes will often melt before the consumption of the beverage is complete. With the refrigeration method of cooling, the beverage container used outside of the refrigerator eventually warms to room temperature, as does the beverage. The ice cube method of cooling has the additional shortcoming of diluting the beverage with water, which can affect the taste of beverages other than water.
There have been a number of attempts in the prior art to design a device and method that permits continuous cooling of a beverage within a container. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,801 to Damiens discloses a cool beverage carafe server wherein a ring of ice is formed around a carafe whose overall configuration is critically important. The carafe disclosed in the Damiens patent must have an elongated neck which may conveniently be hand-held as a handle. In addition, it is required that the main body portion of the carafe have a bulbous shape such that it will retain a solid ice ring captured thereon in an encircling relationship. As disclosed in the Damiens patent, the user of that device must take the liquid desired to be cooled (e.g., alcohol) and pour it from its original container into the pre-formed carafe. After the carafe is filled with the liquid beverage, the bulbous body portion is placed down into a water-filled mold so that the water largely covers the bulbous portion. The carafe and mold are then placed in a freezer in a vertical position until the water freezes around the bulbous portion. Once the water is frozen, the carafe is removed from the mold and utilized in conjunction with a tray that can collect ice drippings as the ice ring melts.
Another attempt at designing an apparatus for continuously cooling a beverage is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,048,041 to Warren et al. The Warren patent discloses a method and apparatus for serving ice drinks wherein a mold in the shape of a truncated cone is inverted and a glass for holding the beverage to be cooled is placed in an inverted position therein. The mold is filled with ice and turned back over into an upright position. After the ice hardens around the glass, the mold is removed, leaving a glass surrounded by an ice ring in the shape of a truncated cone. This Warren patent does not suggest how to cool a bottle of liquor and it is difficult to grip the ice ring clad glass.
Some other attempts at designing a device to perform a similar function are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,091,723 to Sterino, U.S. Pat. No. 1,943,384 to Hall and U.S. Pat. No. 662,541 to Miskolczy.
These patents do not disclose a device that easily permits an ice mold to be formed directly around the original and unopened container in which the beverage is packaged. For example, if one wanted to form a mold around an originally-manufactured glass bottle containing vodka caped or enclosed therein, none of the devices disclosed in these patents would work very well to achieve that objective. Moreover, if one wanted to similarly prepare a number of bottles at one time and in one freezer, there is very little flexibility in the position that these devices can rest in while ice is forming around the container. Moreover, there is less than an optimum amount of stability in these devices. If one were to bump the device disclosed in the Damiens patent, water could easily spill out of the mold and adversely affect the performance of the device.